Gravity High
by ClementineSparkle
Summary: It's been three years since Mabel and Dipper had stepped foot in Gravity Falls. Due to a sudden depression back home, they're forced to move back in with the one and only Gruncle Stan, and start a new life at Gravity High, a place just waiting for disaster to strike. PacificaxDipper, Wendy, Gruncle Stan
1. Chapter 1

I never asked for it to happen, really.

It was more like I prayed.

Just yesterday, I would have never given a single thought about Gravity Falls. I thought it was over, done with. I had forced myself to move on after months of misery and feeling sorry for myself after finally having to leave. For me, it was better just to forget it all.

It had been three years since Mabel and I had been to Gravity Falls. There were some parts I could never forget, like the wild golf cart rides and some of the adventures and mysteries we encountered. Most of all, though, I could never forget _her._ Wendy. As much as I wanted to move on, I couldn't. I often found myself wondering how she was, or what she was doing at the moment. I didn't still love her, but I definitely missed her. A lot.

And then here we were, in the car, on our way back.

Ever since Mom and Dad had lost their jobs due to the sudden depression in Chicago, we were sort of forced to all move back in with Gruncle Stan at the Mystery Shack. I guess I was looking forward to that, but bad memories with Gruncle Stan came to mind more than any good ones. I loved the guy; I mean, he was my family. He was just... demanding.

My mind was racing as I stared out the rainy window. There was so much I wanted to do... so much I wanted to see again. My heart pounded with the eagerness to finally arrive. I almost couldn't breath. The whole car ride, I had been fantasizing about walking into the Mystery Shack and seeing all the familiar faces of Gravity Falls. Long story short, I _could not_ wait. But my anxiousness was nothing compared to Mabel's.

"Can you believe it, Dipper?!" she squealed. Yeah, we were now fifteen years old, but her maturity level was still the same as her old, twelve year old self. "We're going to be living in _Gravity Falls. _I am sooo. Excited!"

Mabel was still the same on the inside, I can assure you that. But on the outside... she had changed. Well, a lot. Instead of her poofy sweaters that she always wore, she had replaced them with dresses. Pink, floral print, polka dots, lace, black and white stripes... she was trendy now. Images like puppies playing basketball were so out for her. To top it all off, she always wore a pair of little high heels with a decorative bow on the front. Her hair was always down and wavy. She had mascara on, and before that I had never realized how ridiculously long her lashes were. Her lips were always painted a light red, and she carried a pink lacy purse with her wherever she went now.

As much as I hated to admit it, if I wasn't her brother, and I was some random stranger walking by... well, I would probably think Mabel was hot.

I guess I had changed a lot too myself. I no longer wore those wimpy short pants. I wore jeans like every other guy on the planet. And that silly little vest? No. I had lost that almost as soon as I left Gravity Falls. I wore _Vans_ now. Over the last three years, I had learned to skateboard, and that had automatically given me tons of friends. So instead of that pesky vest, I wore turquoise and dark red hoodies. You know, just your average skater kid.

My hair was still the same. A lot of girls back home had always liked to ruffle it and play with it. I guess you could say when I finally returned, I was sort of popular. I expected the same to happen at Gravity High, our brand new high school where Mabel and I would know nobody. Oh joy!

All of a sudden, the car pulled up to the one and only place known as The Mystery Shack. I could see Gruncle Stan outside waiting for us, just like Mom had told him to on the phone fifteen minutes earlier.

Mabel had already unbuckled and was out of the car, speed walking towards Gruncle Stan. I could tell she desperately wanted to skip, but was too afraid of falling due to her ballet pink heels. Her perfect curls bounced this way and that, and I followed her excited.

"Gruncle Stan!" she shouted, embracing him in a huge bear hug. He wrapped his arms around her, and I could tell he had really missed her. I knew Gruncle Stan would never admit that he missed her, but he would do his best to show it in that hug.

When he finally let go, he looked over to me. I gave him my big, sideways smile.

"Dipper?" he said, eyeing me up and down. "Is that really you?" I wondered why he only asking me this. Mabel had changed a great deal too. "Red skinny jeans and a blue hoodie. I love it!"

"You do?" I asked, feeling stupid directly afterwards.

"Yeah. 'Makes you look cool."

I shook his hand, my cheeks blushing. Gruncle Stan had never really complimented me. Maybe now I would finally get respect and be treated like an adult.

"Make way!" Mom shouted as she pulled the luggage across the parking lot and into the house. I watched her go, and then noticed someone else walk out of the Mystery Shack.

Pacifica Northwest.

Mabel's old rival.

She was licking a vanilla ice cream cone, and those two friends of hers followed behind her. I watched her as she made her way through the parking lot, with her head held up high. I had to admit, I admired her confidence. But that was it.

All of a sudden, she came to a stop and she turned her head to look at me. She squinted a little bit as if she were trying to read my mind. I knew what she was thinking though. She was just shocked that I was back... and probably that I had changed a lot.

She started to approach me. Now a long time ago, I would have panicked and ran. But I was different now. I waited for her to come, and I braced myself for anything stupid she might say.

"Dipper? Dipper _Pines?_" She licked the ice cream of her lips.

"Uh... yeah." I ran a hand through my hair, and she watched it, making it kinda awkward for me.

"When did you get so cute?" Her friends were nodding in agreement. I blushed again, and I didn't know how to respond.

"I..."

"Are you going to Gravity High? It's the best high school in this town, you know."

"Yeah, actually. Mabel's going there too-"

"Mabel?"

As if on cue, Mabel walked out looking happy as ever. Pacifica turned to look at her, and her eyeballs grew wide as she realized the Mabel might have even been prettier than her. Then she turned back around to me like she never saw her.

"So I'll see you on Monday then, right?"

"Yeah."

"Kay. See ya later, Dipper!"

"Yeah, bye."

My heart sank as I realized that she had been acting like a lot of girls had been back home, and that could only mean one thing. Pacifica Northwest was crushing on me.


	2. Arrival

"So, Dipper," Mabel said, bouncing on her mattress with smirk on her face.

"Yeah?" I asked, my eyes looking up from my book. I didn't like where this was going.

We had barely unpacked anything. All of us had been too tired from the long drive, and we basically all had dinner and went to bed. I mean, we were supposed to be in bed because we had school tomorrow, but we never listened.

There were boxes all over our room, and we looked like we should be on an episode of _Hoarders. _Most of them were filled with useless junk too, (Mainly Mabel's) stuff that we didn't even need. Our beds had been set up of course, so we had a place to sleep, but that was basically it. There was a wooden, rickety desk between our beds with a candle on it, our only light source for now.

Although the room was an attic, and the only thing decorative about it was the _Several Times_ poster by Mabel's bed, it was good to be back. Just being here brought back so many memories from when we were twelve, and we would have mini golf tournaments.

"Well, we're in Gravity Falls. Filled with monsters... and gnomes... and mystical creatures."

"And?"

"Aren't you excited at all?"

"Mabel," I sighed, "I don't solve mysteries anymore. I'm too old for that kind of stuff."

Mabel frowned.

"I don't get it. You were devastated when you had to leave this place, and now you're telling me you don't want to solve mysteries?" She got under her sheets.

"Yup."

"You're unbelievable," she said, and she reached out to blow the candle.

I rested my head against my pillow, and I set my book down on the desk. I closed my eyes, and a million thoughts started pouring into my mind.

Was I being stupid? I thought what I was doing was the right choice... but then why did I hate it so much? When I was twelve, I lived for mysteries. I guess it was just a part of growing up. I decided to let it go for then and just get some sleep. Besides, I didn't want to spend my energy on it in the first place.

* * *

The ear-piercing sound of the alarm clock sounded the room at 6:00 A.M. The frustration of getting up filled my chest, and I slowly opened my eyes.

I could see that Mabel had already gotten out of bed. Her black and white polka-dotted sheets were thrown back, and she had left her blue, silky nightgown on the floor. She came out brushing her teeth, her hair wet from a shower, and dressed in a lace tee and skinny jeans.

"Ge upt sleepy heawd," she said with her mouth full. I lifted off my covers off at snail speed and sat up stiffly, my eyes squinting.

"Good morning," I yawned, pushing my hair back with my hand.

"Mornin,'" she replied, slapping on some socks now. "Can you believe it, Dipper? We get to go to Gravity High! I cannot wait omg!"

I looked over at my pillow. It seemed to be calling me, begging for me to rest my head on it once again. I forced myself to break away, and I stood up and walked to the closet to get something to put on.

"Hmmm... what should I wear?"

"I always liked that one red shirt you got from the time we went shopping at the mall. You should wear that one."

"Yeah... thanks." I pulled it off the hanger along with some black skinny jeans and headed for the bathroom to fix my hair.

...

"When did you get _those_?" I asked Mabel as we stepped outside and headed towards the bus stop. I was looking at the pair of black combat boots on her feet.

"For your information, Dipper, combat boots are very in this Fall. Besides, it's not good to where heels all the time."

The morning air was fresh, and it was much cooler than back home. The breeze was just light enough to tickle your skin, but not so heavy that it made things fly everywhere.

"How do I look?" Mabel asked after a few moments.

"What?"

"How do I look? I don't wanna start a new school looking like an idiot. So please, honest opinion?"

I studied her. Her hair was done in one of those half- up half- down things, and it looked good with her curls. Her shirt looked nice on her, and her makeup really brought out her eyes.

"You look beautiful," I said, and I really meant it.

"Awww, Dipper," she gushed, her eyes growing wide. Before I knew what was happening, her arms were wrapped around me, and she was giving me one of her really, really tight hugs. I hugged back, hoping it would be over soon.

All of a sudden, the screech of a break pedal startled us, and we jumped apart. Before us stood a yellow school bus with the words "Gravity High District" on the side.

"Come on!" exclaimed Mabel, running up the steps and smiling her huge smile. I followed, a little uneasy.

I looked around the bus, trying to find the right place to sit. There were no empty seats, so Mabel and I couldn't sit together. I looked on the bright side though: Maybe now was the chance to meet somebody new.

I took the nearest seat next to me on the left, and I sat next to a guy with blond hair and a shirt that read _AC/DC_ on the front. He looked up at me, a look of confusion in his eyes.

"You new here or something?" he said, looking me in the eyes.

"Yeah actually. My name is Dipper. Dipper Pines."

"Taylor." He had his hand out, and I hesitantly shook it. His grasp was firm, and I wondered if maybe my hand was too weak and I didn't seem sincere. "Where 'ya from?"

"Chicago. There was a depression there and my parents sort of lost their jobs. We're living with my Gruncle Stan now."

He looked at me for a second.

"_Gruncle?"_

"It means "great uncle." You know, 'cause he's my dad's uncle."

"Oh."

I looked away from him as my mind scrambled for something to say. Something that would make me seem interesting. Suddenly I remembered his shirt.

"I love AC/DC. I'm surprised you even know who they are."

"Wait- you like AC/DC? I thought I was the only one!" He was looking at me now, and his eyes grew wider.

"Of course I like them! They're one of the greatest rock bands of all time."

"I know right! I know how to play almost all their songs on guitar."

"You play guitar?!"

"Yeah. I used to have a band... until we split up. It's still kinda awkward when we pass each other in the halls sometimes."

The bus came to a stop, and I automatically looked out the window. So this was it; Gravity High. It was a nice high school; it had green grass and lots of picnic benches. It was big, and it had lots of steps leading to the entrance.

"Come on, I'll show you around," Taylor said, waiting for me to get up.

"Bye, Dipper!" Mabel shouted across the bus smiling. She was with another girl, and they were giggling. I guess Mabel had had just as easy of a time as I did.

"Dude, is that your sister?" Taylor asked, still glaring at her.

"Yeah. We're twins actually. Her name's Mabel."

"I think I'm in love."

We both laughed, and we stepped off the bus, walking towards Gravity High. A place I felt like I had heard about so much, I already knew it.


	3. And So it Begins

The cafeteria.

It looked completely harmless. After all, it was just a giant room filled with a bunch of tables and a kitchen. But it was what went on in their that was making my heart about to thump out of my chest. I was so terrified of so many different things that could potentially go wrong.

"No way," Taylor said, stopping mid way through the aisle. He was glancing at a few preppy boys laughing. "They totally took our table."

"Lets just go sit somewhere else then."

Taylor turned and glared at me.

"Are you kidding? Everyone knows that the table you sit at on the first day of school is your table for the rest of the year. If you move, it's like... breaking a law here."

i stifled a laugh.

"Who made that stupid rule up?"

Taylor went quiet for a moment, and he looked like he was trying to remember something.

"Nobody, I guess. It just kinda always was. You know?"

"No, I don't know."

"Come on, lets just go outside."

I started to follow him out of the cafeteria when I heard a familiar, yet unwanted voice call my name.

"Dipper!" yelled Pacifica, waving for me to come over there. I winced, and tried to think of some place to run quickly.

"You know Pacifica?" Taylor asked, saying Pacifica like it was a piece of garbage.

"Go," I said, ignoring him. I pulled him by the arm and led him outside, even though I had no idea where we were going considering I just got here.

"Dipper!"

I walked faster, and I was starting to pant. I hadn't walked this fast since... well, ever.

"What was that all about?" Taylor asked as we finally set our stuff down on a picnic bench.

"It was nothing. Look, can we just forget about it?"

"I guess so..." He stared at me for a second. "Why are you trying to hide it?"

"I'm not... I just... I don't wanna talk about it, okay?"

"Hey, bro."

Startled, I turned around to find Mabel, looking happy as ever. She was with the same girl she had been with on the bus earlier that morning. I could see why they got along: They dressed almost exactly alike, and they both were always smiling.

"Hi, I'm Taylor."

"Mabel," she said with her hand out. Taylor looked at it for a second, and then slowly shook it. It was weird, because he had shook my hand so confidently. "Nice to meet you, Taylor."

I couldn't help but notice the little smile that crept across his face as soon as she said his name.

"Who's your friend?" I finally asked, glaring at her.

"Oh, right! This is Harmony."

"Hi," she said sweetly. She turned to Mabel. "Come on. I have Smile Dip!"

Mabel gasped.

"Really?!"

"Uh-huh!"

The two were off before I could even say goodbye. I automatically looked over to Taylor, who was just sitting there, staring into space with this dorky smile.

"Taylor?" I said, staring at him and wondering what he was looking at.

"Hmm? Oh, hi." He started to grab his backpack. "We better go. 'Bell's going to ring."

"Right."

We both slipped on our backpacks and headed for the campus grounds. And that was when it happened.

An ear piercing shriek sounded the entire school yard. People around us stopped everything they were doing, including Taylor and I. Everyone had their eyebrows arched in confusion.

The scream wasn't the playful kind of scream. It was more like a cry for bloody murder. It was the kind of scream nobody ever wanted to hear in their entire lives. It was torturous.

Before I even thought about what I was doing, I started running to into the school as fast as I could so I could get a good look at the action.

"Wait up!" I heard Taylor yell behind me, but I just kept running.

I forgot what it was like to run. The breeze felt nice against me, and my hair was flying everywhere.

A crowd surrounded the lockers, muttering violently. I pushed my way through, and Taylor was right behind me.

"Excuse me, sorry," I said for what seemed like the billionth time. I almost felt kind of bad, bothering all these kids on my first day. But they didn't seem to mind- not when there was a dead body laying right in front of us.

I jumped backwards when I saw the lifeless corpse dressed in a Gravity High cheer uniform. Along her face was a giant cut mark, which I tried not to look at too much.

"Make way, people!" hissed an overly demanding voice. Pacifica. Again. Just great! "Holy... oh my god. Julia?!" She was walking up to the girl kneeling beside her body in a flustered state. I could have sworn I saw tears in her eyes.

"How did this happen?!" she screamed at the girl, her eyes gleaming with anger. Her fists were clenched and her jaw tightened.

"I-I don't know," the girl said through fits of tears. "I just opened my locker and she... she fell out."

Pacifica no longer looked angry, but more confused. A look of wonder on her face and her eyes wide, she got up and walked away. I watched her as she left for outside.

I wasn't sure why I followed her.

Maybe it was the fact that the suspense of not knowing where she was going killed me. Or maybe it was because after seeing that look on her face, I knew something was up.

But no matter how much I kept lying to myself, or how much I tried to convince myself I hated her, I knew deep down inside it was because every time I saw those China blue eyes of hers , my heart started racing.


	4. Ready or Not, Here I Come

"Wait up, Pacifica!" I called after her, running out of breath. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and took in a deep gasp of air.

Pacifica turned around, her blue eyes growing bigger when she saw I was right behind her.

"Dipper?" she said. I wasn't sure if she was confused or annoyed that I was here.

"Where are you going?" I asked her, coming a little closer to her. I was sick of shouting.

"None of your business!" she snapped, turning back around.

I instantly felt guilty. She was right- this was none of my business. I didn't even know her, and I had thought I had the right to just follow her.

"I'm sorry... really, I am."

I was about to head back when suddenly she grabbed my arm. My heart pounding, I looked up at her.

"I'm sorry too." She frowned. "I'm sorry for thinking I could just be friends with you when I've been nothing but a jerk to you from the start." She paused for a second, looking like she was thinking hard about something. "But I do want to get to know you, Dipper. And maybe if you just gave me a chance-"

"It's okay, Pacifica," I interrupted. "And I would love to get to know you." _More than you can imagine... _

_"_Oh. Really? You don't hate me?"

"Of course I don't hate you. It's just..."

"Everybody else _does. _I know."

"So you understand?"

"Yeah. I understand."

There was a moment of loud silence, and I stood there nervously, wondering what to say. I felt like I had come off a little bit rudely.

"I'm gonna go, Dipper. I'll see you later." And with that, she took off into the woods, leaving behind her a miserable atmosphere. I sighed, as mixed emotions came pouring into my chest- too many for me to even try figuring out. There was one thing I knew though. I wanted her. I wanted her so badly. And then again, I wanted the people that I cared about to _not_ hate me. There was just no winning.

I decided to walk back up to the school. There was the sound of a police siren in the distance, which I assumed was for the whole "dead-girl" issue. My feet stomped on the crunchy autumn leaves. Their sound was actually quite soothing, reminding me of the times when Mabel and I would go find mystical creatures hidden deep in the forest...

And what was soothing led me to yet another issue:

My heart told me to solve the mystery of why that poor girl was dead. Yet, at the same time, it told me I was too old for that kind of non-sense. But was it even non-sense? I was so incredibly lost.

"Dipper!" Mabel shouted, running across the schoolyard and hugging me. I prayed to god that people weren't staring.

"Where did you go?" another voice from behind me said. I broke away from my sister and found a concerned Taylor.

"I..."

"It was terrible!" Mabel cried. "There was a dead body and... who would do such a thing?" I thought I saw tears in her eyes.

"Um... do you need a hug?" Taylor asked with his arms out, even though it seemed like he was the one who need the hug more.

Mabel nodded her head, and she wrapped her arms around him. A smile creeped up Taylor's lips and he closed his eyes, seeming to take in everything as much as he could.

I decided to walk away and just let Taylor have his moment, even though I had no freaking clue as to where I was going. I started up the stairs when I saw familiar red hair, turning gold as the sun hit it. Was it...? No, it couldn't be. But as soon as the girl turned around, I knew it was her. Unsure what to do, I just headed towards her.

"Wendy!" I shouted. She turned away from the three girls she was talking to, and she squinted her eyes, trying to make out who I was.

"Dipper? Is that you?!" She was smiling, and she walked away from her group.

"Yeah! How you been?!"

"Good! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it's really you! What are you doing here, kiddo?"

"I'm here with Gruncle Stan until my parents can find jobs again."

"I see. So, you still solving mysteries and stuff?"

A brick fell down my stomach. A fricken fifty pound brick. Why did everyone expect me to keep solving mysteries?!

"No, I-"

"Oh come on, man! That's what you do. You saved so many lives and... why?!"

"I don't know, okay!"

I plopped onto the bench behind us and rested my chin in my hand. "I don't know."

Wendy decided to join me and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Are you sure you don't know why?"

"Yes... well, no."

Wendy was looking at me now, her piercing green eyes staring into mine.

"Dipper, don't give something up just to please others. Do what _you_ want to do. And if people don't like it, well... screw them!"

I was taken aback by her tone- she had never sounded so powerful. But she was right, and I was being stupid. That was when I made a pledge to myself that I would find out who killed that girl, no matter what it took, and no matter what people thought of me. That murderer had better watch out, 'cause they had another thing coming.


	5. Be Our Guest, Taylor

"So let me get this straight," Taylor said as we sat down on the bus. It had been one interesting first day of school. "You used to solve _mysteries_?"

I was a little disappointed by his tone. I had been expecting him to react that way, but some part of me was also hoping he would somehow think that was cool. I didn't blame him though; Solving mysteries was kind of geeky. Maybe that was why I had no friends...

"Yeah," I replied, not sure how to act. Should I pretend to look like I didn't care? Or should I pretend to look like I was going to pound him if he didn't accept it? Since I was on the nicer side, the obvious choice was the first one. And yeah, I knew that Wendy had told me to not care anyways, but doing so was really, really hard. So pretending like I didn't care was my best bet.

"It's... a little strange, I guess. But I still like you, mystery geek or non- mystery geek." He smiled, and somehow I knew by that grin of his that everything was going to be just fine.

"I wanna show you something," I blurted out, not even sure if I actually wanted to show him anything. Actually, I hadn't been sure about anything all day. He looked like he was about to say something when he suddenly ducked behind me.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking down at him, a look of panic in his brown eyes.

"Hide me!"

"From who?!"

He pointed to the red- headed boy with- surprisingly- no freckles. His hair looked kind of like a mop, and it was all over the place. His ear-buds were in, and he looked way into whatever song he had on.

"What's so bad about him?" I asked, still staring at the kid.

"That's Jake, aka my ex- bass player. I don't want him to see me... he tends to try and pick fights with me."

"No, Taylor. Don't be a coward. Sit up and face whatever he has to say to you." Wendy would have told him the same thing.

"But... Dipper, I-"

"Taylor, just do it." I looked him in the eyes, and he actually sat up again. His face was a little pail, but he still did, and that's all that matters to me.

Jake didn't say anything. In fact, he didn't even look at him. He just walked by without a care, nodding his head to the beat of the drums. He took the seat way in the back.

"See? He didn't even say anything," I said with an I-Told-You-So look on my face. Taylor just crossed his arms and stared out the window for a moment. But only a moment. He suddenly turned around again when he remembered what I had said.

"What was it that you wanted to show me?" he asked, looking anxious. Gosh dangit.

"It was nothing," I replied, waving it off.

"Oh, come on! Please?"

I just shook my head at him. I didn't think I was ready to show him Book 3. Not just yet.

Taylor stared at me for a moment, a look of frustration on his face.

"What do I have to do to get you to show me whatever it is?"

"Nothing," I said quickly. "You're not seeing it."

"You suck! Okay, no, I take that back! You don't suck. But you're not being very reasonable."

"Fine! You wanna see it? Then you will. But if you think I'm completely insane afterwards, it's your own fault."

"Does this mean I'm coming to your house?"

"Yes. Yes it does."

"Whoo! I get to see Ma- I mean, the place where you live!"

* * *

"And who is this, Dipper?" Mom asked as soon as Taylor and I walked through the door. I instantly felt bad for bringing him over uninvited.

"This is Taylor," I said awkwardly. Taylor just smiled at her and began to look around.

"Oh. Well it's very nice to meet you, Taylor. Want some cookies?" She began taking a plate of cookies out of the oven.

"No thanks," I answered for him. "Maybe later. Come on, Taylor." I ran upstairs to me and Mabel's room, and I closed the door.

"I can't believe your house is the Mystery Shack!" he exclaimed, sitting down on my bed.

"Yeah..." I reached under my bed and pulled out my suitcase. I anxiously unzipped it, dug through all the cloths, and beheld the one and only Book 3.

"Whoa... what's that?" Taylor said, staring at the hand on the cover.

"Dipper! I need to come in there!" a voice said through the door. Mabel.

"Uh... five minutes, Mabel!"

"Pleeeeaaasssee, Dipper?" She started twisting the doorknob back and forth, even though it was no use.

"Let the girl in, Dipper," Taylor said, smiling at the door. Anger spewed inside me. Couldn't I just have the room for once?!

"No," I said, trying to sound as calm as I could. The truth was, I wanted to throw Book 3 as hard as I could to the door. I wanted to hear the sound of the book bang the wood and hear Mabel scream, terrified. But I could never do that, no matter how frustrated I was.

"Fine then," Taylor huffed, standing up from the bed. "If you won't let her in, I will."

"No!"

But it was no use. Taylor let her in, and Mabel came running to me, screaming and jumping with joy. I stepped back a little bit, waiting for her to finish her squealing rant and finally get on with what she had to say.

"You'll never guess what just happened to me!" she exclaimed, her eyes growing wide. She looked at me as if waiting for me to ask "What?"

"What?" I sighed, knowing she was probably making a bigger deal out this than it actually was.

"I just got asked out by the most amazing guy!" She twirled her brown curl.

Wait- Mabel? Having a boyfriend? Was I supposed to be happy for her? I sure didn't want to be... this was going to take a lot of getting used to.

"WHAT?" Taylor hissed, red in the face. "I mean... that's nice."

Oh no. Just by the look on his face, I could tell everything from this point on was just going to get worse.

"Um, so who is he?" I asked, trying to be supportive. I would have wanted Mabel to do the same thing. Especially if... I didn't let my mind wander any further than that.

"His name is Jake. He's got this golden red hair, and his eyes are this denim blue color that just hypnotize you!"

I was right. It did get worse- just now. Out of all the guys at our school, why did it have to be Taylor's ex- bass player?! I turned around to sneak a glance at him. I didn't know what I was expecting, but it definitely was worse than I imagined. He looked like he had been hit with a truck. No... worse. He looked like somebody he hated had just told him his favorite person in the whole world was dead. In a way, that was true. Somebody he hated, his ex-bass player, had taken Mabel. So now his chances with her were dead.


	6. Chapter 6

As the bell rang with it's sharp sounding ring, I took the seat next to Taylor. A few other girls had offered to let me sit with them, which was of course flattering. But I knew that if I didn't sit next to him, he would be hurt. Especially with all the girl problems messing with his brain.

He hadn't really seemed himself since yesterday. That morning I found him sitting at a table- alone- muttering things to himself. Like a psycho. He had his head resting in his hand and he looked sick... or just terribly confused. It was understandable. I mean, his ex- bass player, a person who he despised with every muscle in his body, had taken the girl he liked. Maybe things would have been different if it was just somebody else. Somebody not from his old band.

Maybe it wasn't just Mabel that was wrong with him... maybe it was a lot of different things put together. And the Mabel thing had pulled his final straw. I would be going crazy right now too if I had dealt with what he had. Those guys were his best friends... probably for a very long time. And then the band thing ripped them apart.

"Attention class," Mrs. Phillips said, standing in front of the room. "I have a new assignment for all of you."

Everyone began whispering to each other, exchanging worried glances. Was this teacher awful or something? Were the assignments she gives out impossible?

"Taylor," I said softly, tapping him on the shoulder. He turned his head to look at me, as if saying he was listening... barely. "Why's everyone muttering?"

He gave me a shoulder shrug and then looked away, staring at the wall. Oh no. This was bad. Maybe he needed therapy, or a session with the school councelor. At least something. Maybe I could make him an appointment...

"Settle down everyone!" Mrs. Phillips shouted across the room, red in the face. "I never said to talk. Yeesh." She took in a deep breath, and her eyes rolled up to the ceiling. "I was going to say, you have an argument essay due by tomorrow. Five paragraphs long."

Everyone moaned and groaned, including myself. That is, except for one kid who had his nose buried deep inside whatever book he was reading. He looked up for a moment as if just realizing that everyone was complaining.

"Booo!" one blond kid shouted. Then he looked over at Pacifica as if checking to see if she noticed. She better not have. Otherwise I- wait, why did I care?!

Anyway... an essay?! Gosh dangit, this was terrible. I didn't know the first thing about argument writing. I almost was going to ask Taylor to work on it together when I remembered he was a little bit out of it. Or a lot.

* * *

"So, Taylor..." I tried to get him to talk as he picked at his chicken. It seemed to just be annoying, so I stopped talking and looked around at everyone else enjoying their lunch. I looked back at Taylor... maybe I shouldn't talk to the councelor... but it seemed like he really needed it. I got up from the table and ran off before he could ask me where I was going. Not that he would even talk to me anyway.

I ran into the office, trying to find someone I could ask. The lady at the front desk seemed helpful.

"Hi," I said, standing on my tip toes to reach eye contact with her.

"How can I help you?" she asked, setting down a pen and looking up at me.

"I was wondering if my friend could maybe see the therapist here... is that okay?"

The lady's eyes lit up. She walked away from me and ran down the hallway to the third door.

"Will! Somebody actually wants to see you! Oh my god this is so exciting!" she squealed, quickly running back to me. "He's available right now if you like."

"Great!" I was about to turn around when I remembered something. "But I think you should call him down here on the intercom. He won't listen to me if I say it."


	7. Therapy

I wasn't sure why the office had called me down here. It was so embarrassing, hearing everyone laugh at me knowing I was in trouble for some reason. Just another thing to add to the list of all the things that had been ruining my day.

I took a seat in the blue, scratchy waiting chair, and started to quietly drum on my lap. It was silly, but it kept me calm. For some reason- especially in situations like now- I felt like there was some sort of spotlight on me, and everyone was watching. Not in a good way either. I was stupid, considering I didn't even like being in the spotlight anyway. But it was just a feeling I couldn't really control. Because of that, I was always self- conscious, and worrying about what to say. Honestly, I worried more about if I looked cool in front of people than anything else, and I hated that about me. I was always wondering if what I said sounded stupid, or if people were going to reject me.

"Taylor?" a man said, coming out of the hall and into the main room- where I was.

"That's me," I said, sounding more sure than I actually was.

"You signed up to see me, correct?" The man had a brown, bushy beard, and he was a little overweight. He had soft brown eyes, and he seemed nice enough.

"I don't remember signing up for anything," I said, looking into his brown eyes with confusion.

"Well it says right here you wanted to see me." He held out his clipboard and pointed to my name with his pen.

Why in the world would my name be on that list if- Dipper. It had to be him. Who else would sign me up for something?

"Lets just get this over with," I muttered.

"Okay then! Follow me," he said, leading the way down the hall.

I took a seat in a much cozier chair- one that had arm rests too. The man took the seat across the table and handed me a squishy, foam pumpkin.

"Here," he said, "You can squeeze it if you start to feel stress. Oh, and I'm Mr. Lamoth by the way."

"Uh, hi. Um... why am I here?"

"You tell me that."

Mabel. I wanted to scream her name out loud and get it off my chest. But I didn't for obvious reasons.

"Well," I said, not even bothering to try and sound cool anymore, "there was this girl."

He nodded his head, and he seemed to have full attention on me. I kind of liked it... yet hated it.

"Was she your girlfriend?" he asked, taking out his pen as if ready to take notes.

I hesitated, but then remembered if I sounded stupid, it wouldn't matter because he was a therapist.

"No... and I thought maybe one day she would be. But then..."

"But then what?"

I took a deep breath.

"But then another guy took her."

He frowned.

"That can be tough, I know. But you get over it as time goes on. I know it's hard now, but time will heal you."

"But this wasn't just any random guy!" I blurted out. I instantly felt bad. I had come off sounding a little bit rude.

"Well... then who was it?"

I took in another deep breath and looked down at my squishy pumpkin. My hair hung over my blue eyes, hiding my face.

"He was my best friend," I almost whispered. When I started to feel tears in my eyes, I knew then that this whole thing was more about Jake than about Mabel. Sure, I really wanted Mabel. But these tears wouldn't have been falling if it had been anyone else who had taken her.

"Do you mind me asking what happened?"

Yeah, I minded. But I figured I owed him for putting up with me.

"We were in a band... we fought... and the fight never ended. And that is that."

I looked up at him now, my tears gone.

"What was the fight about?" he asked, writing something down that I couldn't see.

I sighed.

"He didn't like the music I was writing. So, he tried to write some of his own... but everybody else in the band hated it. In some twisted way, he blamed that on me, and it all went downhill from there. Can we please talk about something else now?"

"Taylor," he began," I think the reason this is bothering you so much is because you haven't completely gotten over losing Jake yet. And something tells me that you know in your gut that the reason you two aren't friends right now wasn't worth it."

I hated to admit it, but the guy was right. He had a point. And maybe I could talk to Jake... but seeing him with Mabel would hurt too much. That's when I decided that as soon as I got over Mabel, I would talk to him.

"Thanks Mr.L," I said, standing up from my chair. "You're not that bad after all."

He looked a little confused, but happy. I walked out of his office feeling much, much better. Thank god for therapists.

* * *

**Hey guys! Sorry this is so short. :(( Next chapter is coming soon, and it's gonna be good! And it's all thanks to ironpatriotrox! Go check her out, she's great! Remember to make my day and review! :) Thanks!**

**~Clementinesparkle**


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